A SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY FOR THE EVENT OPENING THE DOORS TO WHERE FASHION IS BORN. A GRAND TOUR ACROSS ITALY THROUGH MASTERY AND BEAUTY
OCTOBER 24 AND 25
ApritiModa celebrates its tenth edition, returning on October 24 and 25 with a weekend dedicated to discovering the birthplaces of Made in Italy. Conceived by journalist Cinzia Sasso, the event showcases the unique heritage of creativity, expertise, and savoir-faire that represents Italy's greatest wealth—treasured and sought after across the globe.
Launched ten years ago with 14 Milanese locations and the ambition of opening an exclusive world to the general public, ApritiModa has expanded to feature over 100 open venues across every Italian region, spanning fashion houses, ateliers, manufacturing facilities, and artisan workshops. From internationally renowned houses to local gems hidden across regional landscapes, each opening forms an essential piece in the story of Italian excellence.
The public has mirrored this growth, rising from 16,000 visitors in the inaugural edition to over 50,000 inquiries in the latest edition. Website interactions (clicks, scrolls, bookings) exceeded 1 million, with an average dwell time of 6 minutes—a clear sign of genuine engagement.
Through a simple booking on the official ApritiModa website, the initiative offers an exclusive journey into the heart of Italian manufacturing. Over the two days, visitors can closely observe production processes and artisanal craftsmanship, meet industry professionals and master artisans, and discover how fabrics, garments, hats, eyewear, shoes, and perfumes take shape—alongside ribbons, trimmings, buttons, and all the accessories that have built the worldwide reputation of Italian excellence. From historic haute couture maisons to cutting-edge experimental workshops, ApritiModa highlights the extraordinary richness of an industry that stands as a pillar of the country's cultural and economic identity.
Highlights of the 2026 edition include several ateliers specializing in bridal wear, such as Anna Renzi Brivio, Cecilia Gerosa, Antonio Riva, and Poesie Spose—testament to a tradition that continually reinvents itself through contemporary sensibility. On the island of Giudecca, Hydro Mirò makes its debut: a Venetian boatyard specializing in gondola upholstery, preserving a unique craft deeply rooted in lagoon heritage. Naples welcomes for the first time Mario Talarico, umbrella maker to the British Royal Family, while in Milan, Leu Locati will reveal how the handbag chosen by Queen Elizabeth II was born (and how its ornate jewel-bags are crafted).
Alongside new additions, long-standing "friends" of ApritiModa return: from houses linked to Giorgio Armani, Brunello Cucinelli, and Dolce&Gabbana to artisan icons such as Pino Grasso Ricami, Cappellificio Cervo, Doucal’s, glovemaker Omega, Dolce Vita tailor Litrico, and historic textile mills like Antico Setificio Fiorentino and Luigi Bevilacqua—headliners of a journey through the finest Italian craftsmanship.
“ApritiModa,” states Cinzia Sasso, “is a unique opportunity to discover the authentic places where beauty is born and mastery is practiced. It is an experience filled with admiration, pride, and love. Visitors are thrilled to step behind doors that are normally closed, and the makers are just as proud to showcase their skilled hands to the public.”
The collaboration between NABA (Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti), ApritiModa, and the Consorzio di Tutela della DOC Prosecco is renewed.
ApritiModa is held under the patronage of Regione Lombardia, Comune di Milano, FAI (Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano), Fondazione Altagamma, and is awaiting renewal of patronage from the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy.
Institutional Partners: Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’Arte, Lineapelle - UNIC.
Official Sparkling Wine: Consorzio di Tutela della DOC Prosecco.
Sponsors: Allianz Trade, NABA Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, GRIVEN, Incantalia.
APRITIMODA: TEN YEARS ON
It all began in 2017 in Milan with 14 companies. This year, nearly 100 will open their doors, spanning from Friuli to Sicily: ten years told through an extraordinary collection of stories.
The idea came from simple curiosity: discovering what lies behind closed doors. Cinzia Sasso came across them by chance and was captivated, realizing that everyone should have the opportunity to see what usually remains unseen. Over the years, nearly 400 companies have opened their doors through ApritiModa: workshops, factories, and ateliers where fabrics, shoes, garments, eyewear, and fragrances are created. Diverse in scale, history, and renown, they share a common thread: the ability to transform knowledge into beauty.
ApritiModa has always maintained that the strength of Made in Italy lies in uniting these differences. Global brands and small independent workshops belong to the very same ecosystem; neither could exist without the other. Luxury is not merely a garment. Luxury is quality, research, time, and mastery. It is the process leading to the finished piece: the fabric, button, zipper, trim, and embroidery. Only at the culmination comes the creative gesture of the designer. This is the value chain underpinning Made in Italy, and the legacy ApritiModa exists to tell. The gown seen on the red carpet is only the final step of a long journey; behind that outcome are trades, skills, and people who often remain invisible. ApritiModa was born to bring them into view.
Over the years, ApritiModa has opened the doors of remarkable niche museums dedicated to straw, eyewear, umbrellas, coral, wool, and silk—guardians of unique traditions that reflect regional identities.
It has granted access to legendary theatrical costume departments: from the vast ateliers of Teatro alla Scala, where opening night productions are brought to life, to the intimate spaces of Venice's Teatro La Fenice, complete with miniature mannequins used to study costume designs. Along with Bologna's Teatro Comunale, Florence's Teatro della Pergola, and the historic theaters of Naples, these spaces represent the daily intersection of craftsmanship and stage performance.
It has brought to light historic weaving mills seemingly suspended in time: Tessitura Bevilacqua in Venice, operating since the 16th century on original looms rescued from the Venetian Republic's Silk Guild; and Antico Setificio Fiorentino, revitalized by Stefano Ricci, which weaves fabrics on machines built from designs attributed to Leonardo da Vinci (the original sketches preserved in the British Royal Collection).
It introduced visitors to master artisans like Pino Grasso, keeper of an archive containing over 12,000 embroidery samples. Here, embroidery transcends needle and thread: it is imagination applied to material. Recycled plastic, wood, coral, bone, seeds, terracotta, rhinestones, and precious stones become narrative elements. Notably, the gown worn by Demi Moore at the Oscars required 1,690 hours of handwork.
It opened the doors to Guantificio Omega in Naples' Rione Sanità. On Via Stella, amid the buildings of the historic city, the Squillace family preserves a centuries-old tradition. Visitors climb the stairs following the aroma of espresso into a workshop frozen in time: vintage Singer sewing machines running by wide windows, with photographs, sketches, and clippings detailing a legacy of dedication.
It highlighted Ombrellificio Maglia, founded in 1854 and continuously family-run. Today, Francesco leads the workshop, having left his legal career to preserve the family heritage. In an atelier on the outskirts of Milan, fully recyclable umbrellas are produced with an attention to detail that renders every piece unique.
It reached Gonars in Friuli to visit Lis Furlanis, makers of traditional furlane—the velvet slippers with soles crafted from recycled bicycle tires, once the shoes of Venetian gondoliers and workers, now an emblem of timeless understated elegance.
In Alessandria, it entered the Borsalino manufacture. Here, a hat begins as raw fur and is shaped, molded, and transformed into felt across more than fifty steps—nearly all performed by hand—eventually shaping the silhouette etched into cinema history by Humphrey Bogart.
At UNIC (Italian Tanners' Association), visitors viewed over 30,000 leather samples, 95% of which originate as by-products of the food industry—a concrete example of the circular economy and resource valorization. During the event, guests were even invited to craft their own pair of gloves guided by a master glovemaker.
Ten years later, ApritiModa continues to do what it set out to do: open doors. Doors that lead to extraordinary spaces and, above all, extraordinary people. Because true Italian luxury is not just what meets the eye—it is everything that lies behind it.
For further information
ApritiModa Press Office
Sabrina Viotti – +39 338 4741372 – ufficiostampa@apritimoda.it
